This invention relates to a hay bale collector. There are many designs of hay bale collectors, each being arranged to collect a predetermined number of hay bales in a regular pattern and when the required bales have been collected to release them in a group ready for easy collection, for example by some mechanical lifting device. In many hay bale collectors in which two adjacent compartments are filled with bales it is desirable for the compartments to be filled evenly and it is important that the means directing the bales into the compartments operate when the machine is turning or traveling on ground that is comparatively rough.